Recombinant monovalent llama-derived antibody fragments (VHH) to rotavirus VP6 protect neonatal gnotobiotic piglets against human rotavirus-induced diarrhea

Group A Rotavirus (RVA) is the leading cause of severe diarrhea in children. The aims of the present study were to determine the neutralizing activity of VP6-specific llama-derived single domain nanoantibodies (VHH nanoAbs) against different RVA strains in vitro and to evaluate the ability of G6P[1] VP6-specific llama-derived single domain nanoantibodies (VHH) to protect against human rotavirus in gnotobiotic (Gn) piglets experimentally inoculated with virulent Wa G1P[8] rotavirus. Supplementation of the daily milk diet with 3B2 VHH clone produced using a baculovirus vector expression system (final ELISA antibody -Ab- titer of 4096; virus neutralization -VN- titer of 256) for 9 days conferred full protection against rotavirus associated diarrhea and significantly reduced virus shedding. The administration of comparable levels of porcine IgG Abs only protected 4 out of 6 of the animals from human RVA diarrhea but significantly reduced virus shedding. In contrast, G6P[1]-VP6 rotavirus-specific IgY Abs purified from eggs of hyperimmunized hens failed to protect piglets against human RVA-induced diarrhea or virus shedding when administering similar quantities of Abs. The oral administration of VHH nanoAb neither interfered with the host's isotype profiles of the Ab secreting cell responses to rotavirus, nor induced detectable host Ab responses to the treatment in serum or intestinal contents. This study shows that the oral administration of rotavirus VP6-VHH nanoAb is a broadly reactive and effective treatment against rotavirus-induced diarrhea in neonatal pigs. Our findings highlight the potential value of a broad neutralizing VP6-specific VHH nanoAb as a treatment that can complement or be used as an alternative to the current strain-specific RVA vaccines. Nanobodies could also be scaled-up to develop pediatric medication or functional food like infant milk formulas that might help treat RVA diarrhea.Fil: Vega, Celina Guadalupe. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bok, Marina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vlasova, Anastasia N.. Ohio State University; Estados UnidosFil: Chattha, Kuldeep S.. Ohio State University; Estados UnidosFil: Gómez Sebastián, Silvia. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Nuñez, Carmen. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Alvarado, Carmen. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Lasa, Rodrigo. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Escribano, José M.. Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria. Departamento Mejora Genética y Biotecnología; EspañaFil: Garaicoechea, Lorena Laura. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Virología; ArgentinaFil: Bok, Karin. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Wigdorovitz, Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Saif, Linda J.. Ohio State University; Estados UnidosFil: Parreño, Gladys Viviana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Application of Ion Beam Processing Technology in Production of Catalysts

In this paper, the applicability of Ion Beam Processing Technology for making catalysts has been inves-tigated. Ceramic substrates of different shapes and metal fibre tablets were implanted by platinum ions and tested in nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) conversion reactions. Effectiveness of the implanted catalysts was compared to that of the commercially produced platinum catalysts made by impregnation. Platinum-implanted catalyst having fifteen times less platinum content showed the same CO conversion efficiency as the commercially pro-duced catalyst. It was revealed that the effectiveness of the platinum-implanted catalyst has complex dependence on the process parameters and the optimum can be achieved by varying the ions energy and the duration of implantation. Investigation of the pore structure showed that ion implantation did not decrease the specific surface area of the catalyst.Key Words: Catalyst, Ion Implantation, Noble metals

ANALYSIS OF THE ADOPTION OF WHEAT SOWING RECOMMENDATIONS AMONG SMALL FARMERS USING WATER SAVING INTERVENTIONS

ABSTRACT Wheat is a staple food crop of Pakistan. Enhancing wheat yield by encouraging farmers, predominantly small farmers, to adopt agricultural innovations including efficient and judicious use of land and water resources for coping with the needs and demands of ever increasing population of Pakistan is a serious challenge. This challenge provided impetus to plan and conduct the present study. In order to evaluate the adoption of the latest technologies at small farms, district Faisalabad was selected as the study area. Area under study comprised five tehsils: Faisalabad, Jaranwala, Sammandri, Chak Jhumra and Tandlianwala. The cross sectional survey research design was applied. Field interviews were conducted with the help of a validated and reliable research instrument. Most of the respondents (58%) under observation were of middle age category. Majority of the respondents (~100%) adopted wheat sowing recommendations such as well preparation of soil, use of recommended dose of seed, application of fertilizer, best way of harvesting and better method of storage whereas, manual weed removing, and fumigation of seed were adopted 33.0% and 37.8 % respectively. Further more regarding extent of adoption of wheat sowing recommendations, the well preparation of soil and best method of storage were adopted by 84.4 %, and 63.7% respondent respectively where as the respondent adopted the wheat sowing recommendations such as use of recommended seed (56.3%) and use of weedicide (55.6%) to an average extent. Compatibility of farmers' preferences with the recommendations and actual practices provide useful adoption indicators

Foliar applied zinc on different growth stages to improves the growth, yield, quality and kernel bio-fortification of fine rice

Zinc (Zn) is an essential needed for the growth and development of plants, however, Zn is continuously increasing in our soils which is decreasing crop production. Further, the crops grown on Zn-deficient soils also contains a low amount of Zn which is also a major reason for Zn deficiency in humans. So, it is mandatory to supply the Zn to fulfil the crop needs with a corresponding increase in grain Zn. Therefore, the present study was performed to determine the impact of different rates of foliar applied Zn at different growth stages on the growth, yield, quality, and Zn bio-fortification of fine rice. The study comprised foliar application of distilled water (control), foliar applied Zn @ 0.5% at stem elongation stage + booting stage, foliar applied Zn @ 1.0% at stem elongation stage + booting stage, foliar applied Zn @ 0.5% at booting stage and milking stage, foliar applied Zn @ 1.0% at booting stage and milking stage, foliar applied Zn @ 0.5% at milking stage + dough stage and applied Zn @ 1.0% at milking stage + dough stage. The results indicated Zn applied different growth stages significantly improved, productivity and Zn bio-fortification of rice crop. The maximum LAI, LAD, CGR, fertile tillers, 1000 KW, kernel yield, biomass yield, HI, chlorophyll concentration, relative water content (RWC), and antioxidant activities were observed with foliar applied Zn (0.5%) at booting and milking stage and lowest values of all these traits were observed in control. Likewise, the maximum kernel protein, amylose, kernel length and width, and grain Zn concentration was Zn (0.5%) at the booting and milking stage, and minimum kernel protein, amylose, kernel length, and width, and grain Zn concentration was noted in control. The current study findings suggested that foliar-applied Zn (0.5%) at the booting and milking stage could be an important practice to get better productivity, quality, and grain Zn bio-fortification of rice in semi-arid conditions

Lactic acidosis occurrence during exercises in the smoke chamber in a 53-year-old firefighter with no significant medical history

Lactic acidosis is a form of metabolic acidosis with a high anion gap, reduced rate of arterial blood pH under 7.35 mmol/l, and lactic acid concentration over 7 mmol/l. In the literature we can find some descriptions of the cases of lactic acidosis in patients with severe systemic diseases (cancer, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, sepsis, diabetes with cardiovascular disease and after organ transplantations). We present the case of lactic acidosis in a patient with no chronic disease - a firefighter in whom lactic acidosis has developed during standard exercises in the smoke chamber

Low-cost printed flexible antenna by using an office printer for conformal applications

A low-cost inkjet printing method for antenna fabrication on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate is presented in this paper. An office inkjet printer is used to have desired patterns of silver nanoparticle ink on the PET substrate without any postprocessing. Silver nanoparticle ink cures instantly as soon as it is ejected from the printer on a chemically treated PET substrate. The thickness of the silver nanoparticle layer was measured to be 300nm with a sheet resistance of as low as 0.3Ω/sq and a conductivity around 1.11 × 107 S/m with single layer deposition. A coplanar waveguide- (CPW-) fed Z-shape planar antenna on the PET substrate achieved the measured radiation efficiency of 62% and the IEEE gain of 1.44 dBi at 2.45 GHz. The printed antenna is also tested in bending conditions to ascertain its performance for the Internet of things (IoT) conformal applications for the future 5G network

The AgMIP Coordinated Climate-Crop Modeling Project (C3MP): Methods and Protocols

Climate change is expected to alter a multitude of factors important to agricultural systems, including pests, diseases, weeds, extreme climate events, water resources, soil degradation, and socio-economic pressures. Changes to carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]), temperature, andwater (CTW) will be the primary drivers of change in crop growth and agricultural systems. Therefore, establishing the CTW-change sensitivity of crop yields is an urgent research need and warrants diverse methods of investigation. Crop models provide a biophysical, process-based tool to investigate crop responses across varying environmental conditions and farm management techniques, and have been applied in climate impact assessment by using a variety of methods (White et al., 2011, and references therein). However, there is a significant amount of divergence between various crop models’ responses to CTW changes (R¨otter et al., 2011). While the application of a site-based crop model is relatively simple, the coordination of such agricultural impact assessments on larger scales requires consistent and timely contributions from a large number of crop modelers, each time a new global climate model (GCM) scenario or downscaling technique is created. A coordinated, global effort to rapidly examine CTW sensitivity across multiple crops, crop models, and sites is needed to aid model development and enhance the assessment of climate impacts (Deser et al., 2012)..

Effects of fluoxetine on functional outcomes after acute stroke (FOCUS): a pragmatic, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial

Background Results of small trials indicate that fluoxetine might improve functional outcomes after stroke. The FOCUS trial aimed to provide a precise estimate of these effects. Methods FOCUS was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial done at 103 hospitals in the UK. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had a clinical stroke diagnosis, were enrolled and randomly assigned between 2 days and 15 days after onset, and had focal neurological deficits. Patients were randomly allocated fluoxetine 20 mg or matching placebo orally once daily for 6 months via a web-based system by use of a minimisation algorithm. The primary outcome was functional status, measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), at 6 months. Patients, carers, health-care staff, and the trial team were masked to treatment allocation. Functional status was assessed at 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. Patients were analysed according to their treatment allocation. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN83290762. Findings Between Sept 10, 2012, and March 31, 2017, 3127 patients were recruited. 1564 patients were allocated fluoxetine and 1563 allocated placebo. mRS data at 6 months were available for 1553 (99·3%) patients in each treatment group. The distribution across mRS categories at 6 months was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (common odds ratio adjusted for minimisation variables 0·951 [95% CI 0·839–1·079]; p=0·439). Patients allocated fluoxetine were less likely than those allocated placebo to develop new depression by 6 months (210 [13·43%] patients vs 269 [17·21%]; difference 3·78% [95% CI 1·26–6·30]; p=0·0033), but they had more bone fractures (45 [2·88%] vs 23 [1·47%]; difference 1·41% [95% CI 0·38–2·43]; p=0·0070). There were no significant differences in any other event at 6 or 12 months. Interpretation Fluoxetine 20 mg given daily for 6 months after acute stroke does not seem to improve functional outcomes. Although the treatment reduced the occurrence of depression, it increased the frequency of bone fractures. These results do not support the routine use of fluoxetine either for the prevention of post-stroke depression or to promote recovery of function. Funding UK Stroke Association and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme